Heat exchange insert for engine manifolds



Sept. 8, 1953 H. .1. HEINECKE 2,651,507

HEAT EXCHANGE INSERT FOR ENGINE MANIFOLDS Filed April 1, 1950 ZSnnentof HILARY J HE/NECkE (lttotnegs Patented Sept. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES 531 NT OFFICE HEAT EXCHANGE INSERT FOR ENGINE MANIFOLDS Application April 1, 1950, Serial No. 153,414

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a heatexchange insert for engine manifolds.

In automobile engines in particular, it is common practice to provide bosses on the intake and exhaust manifolds for the transfer of heat from the exhaust manifold to the intake manifold to facilitate vaporization, particularly during engine starting. For this purpose, the exhaust manifold is frequently provided with a deflecting valve which is thermostatically controlled, the valve initially standing at an angle to throw the first exhaust gases against the heat exchange boss, and having a thermostatic spring for adjusting the valve into parallelism With exhaust gas flow as the engine warms up.

The present invention seeks to greatly improve heat exchange by means of an accessory device which is readily applicable to existing engines and which is adapted to receive the deflected exhaust gases and actually convey them into a hollow heat exchange member within the intake manifold, such member further serving to guide the incoming mixture from the carburetor into the respective manifold branches leading to the cylinders.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in longitudinal section on the line ll of Fig. 2 through intake and exhaust manifold structures equipped with an accessory device embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view taken in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective showing the accessory device per se.

The intake manifold 5 has a forwardly directed branch 6 and a rearwardly directed branch I and it is integrally provided with an upwardly extending throat portion 8 to which the carburetor 9 is bolted. The exhaust manifold 10 is similarly provided with a branch II from the forward cylinders to the branch l2 from the cylinders at the rear of the engine. The heat exchange bosses or pads l3 and [4 of the manifolds 5 and [0 are held in engagement by the bolts I5 or otherwise, the construction thus far described being conventional.

It is also conventional to mount on a rock shaft 16 disposed transversely of the exhaust manifold [0 a deflector valve I! which depends for its position on a thermostatic spring 18 that may be located externally of the manifold, if desired, as shown in Fig. 2. When the engine is cold, the angle of the deflector Il may be approximately as shown in ful1 lines in Fig. 1. As the engine warms up, the valve tends to be moved by the 2 thermostatic spring 18 to the horizontal position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which position it is substantially aligned with the flow of hot gases through the manifold I 0.

- In accordance with the present invention, the carburetor 9 is removed to give access to the interior of the intake manifold 5. Through the throat 8, a drill is inserted, whereby a hole I9 is drilled through the engaged bosses I3 and 14 of the respective manifolds. Some portion or all of this hole is then tapped to receive a heat exchange plug generically designated by reference character 20 which has a threaded shank portion 2!, an interior cavity at 22 and an upwardly convex conical or rounded surface 23- which is preferably directly aligned with the throat 8 to serve as a means for guiding into the respective branches 6 and 1 of the intake:

manifold the mixture admitted through throat 3 from carburetor 9.

The plug 20 may be made of any suitable ma-- terial and various materials have been successfully used. Desirably, it is made of some metal having high thermal conductivity, such as copper or brass. When screwed into the bore 19 as shown, it completely closes the bore and prevents any passage of gas from either manifold into the other. Its external periphery is preferably faceted as shown at 24 in Fig. 3 to facilitate the use of a socket wrench in screwing it into the bore. Its shoulder 25 will seat firmly in the bottom of the intake manifold 6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Hot gases passing through the exhaust manifold during the period when the engine is warming up will be thrown by the deflector I! up into the bore i9 and into the cavity 22 of the interior of the heat exchange plug, thus tending to raise the temperature of the plug very materially. Even when this plug is unheated, I have found it to improve the smoothness of engine operation due to its mechanical effect in distributing the gases. When heated, the smoothness of engine operation is further greatly enhanced over the operation of the same engine with conventional manifold structures not supplied with this plug. The heating of the plug is, of course proportionately much less after the engine warms up, since the bore l9 and the cavity 22 in the interior of the plug tend to become merely dead air space at one side of the mainfold except when the deflector I1 is functioning to throw hot gases into the cavity as above described.

It is desired to emphasize that even without the interior cavity, the external shape of the plug is desirable and helpful. It is further desired to note the fact that, in order that the device may function in existing engine manifolds, it must have a size and shape such that it can be inserted through the opening rendered accessible when the carburetor is removed temporarily.

I claim:

1. The combination with engine intake and,

exhaust manifolds having walls forming generally parallel passages and provided with contiguous central portions opposite which the inlet manifold has a carburetor connection comprising a throat, said central portions having communicating openings, of a thermally conductive plug having a threaded tubular shank screwed into one of said portions to confine gas iiow through said openings, said plug comprising a hollow head larger than the shank and substantially wholly in the said intake manifold passage and into which gas from the exhaust manifold may enter through the said shank, the head having an overall diameter less than that of said throat, whereby said plug is receivable therethrough, and the top of said head comprising an upwardly projecting center substantiall aligned with the throat and from which the head slopes 4 toward opposite ends of the intake manifold for deflecting thereto over the surfaces of the head the mixture received from said carburetor connection.

2. The combination of claim 1 in further combination with an adjustable deflector in the exhaust manifold normally oblique respecting the path of exhaust gas flow for selectively guiding hot gases into said cavity whereby to constitute said plug a heat exchange device, said deflector being adjustable toward parallelism with exhaust gas flow for bypassing said gases past said cavity whereby to constitute said plug and cavity a heat insulating device.

HILARY J. HEINECKE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,328,150 Harley Jan. 13, 1920 1,356,188 Burham Oct. 19, 1920 1,981,876 Moore Nov. 27, 1934 2,256,990 Roensch et a1 Sept. 23, 1941 2,378,344 Warrick June 12, 1945 2,533,604 Moseley Dec. 12, 1950 

